Ralph Stanton Wettick Jr. Was a retired United States judge who served on the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania's Fifth Judicial District,[1] from 1976 to 2016.
He was a leading authority on discovery under Pennsylvania's Rules of Civil Procedure, and was known for handling important and complex cases.
[12][13] In 2011, Wettick was specially assigned to preside over a case in Philadelphia's First Judicial District, where that judicial district itself along with the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court were the plaintiffs in the lawsuit; and where he had to address issues such as whether a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice could be subject to a deposition in that case.
[19][20] Wettick may have been most well known for his legal opinions concerning discovery under Pennsylvania's Rules of Civil Procedure, and their impact on other judges and attorneys.
[21][22] Both in Pennsylvania and nationally, for example, his legal opinion in Acri v. Golden Triangle Management Acceptance Company was referenced as a key opinion providing detailed reasons opposing harsh restrictions on attorneys defending depositions that were being imposed by other judges, inside and outside of Pennsylvania, and in federal as well as state courts.
[30][31] In 2012, well after becoming a senior judge, he issued a detailed legal opinion on the scope of discovery permitted of private Facebook content.
[38][44] As a young lawyer, in 1964, Wettick wrote Modifying Unemployment Compensation Acts to Remove Obstacles to Work Sharing.